


Through the Bramble

by relic_amaranth



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gender-neutral Reader, Love Confessions, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert, Sleeping Beauty Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 05:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14206173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/relic_amaranth/pseuds/relic_amaranth
Summary: You’ll do what it takes to get your angel back. Even if it means living through a fairytale.





	Through the Bramble

**Author's Note:**

> Written for @ thing-you-do-with-that-thing ’s "Favorite Angel Quickie Challenge" on Tumblr. This is some Cas fluff (shocking, I know) and also I have joined the legions applying Disney/fairytale tropes to their fics and I am delighted by it. Please enjoy the fluff.

 

Your phone is ringing almost constantly and it’s getting real old. You’ve just finished a whirlwind tour of the city sewer (thanks, gross creepy shifter dude; it was a real blast) and you should be getting to enjoy a nice hot shower as long as the pipes hold out. Instead, you’re racing out and grabbing your towel, because in your line of work not many people get your real number, and those that do don’t ever call this many times in a row.

At least, they shouldn’t. As soon as you catch sight of the caller ID you take a deep, calming breath before answering. “Dean, I have had a very long day so if you don’t have a good reason for calling–”

“It’s Cas.”

 

You drive all night and hit the pass by the morning. The clouds on the horizon threaten snow but thankfully hold back.

_“You promise you’ll call?”_

_“I’ll be fine. I’m still an angel. Mostly.” But his lips quirked up so you felt safe in laughing– especially when he nuzzled you. “Ticklish…”_

_“Knock it off. I have to get ready too.” You gave him a quick kiss and went to get back to throwing things in your duffle._

_Cas grabbed you from behind, though, and pulled you back into a tight hug. “I’ll have Dean and Sam with me,” he murmured. “Will you be all right?”_

_You took one of his hands and brought it to your lips. “I’ll be fine. If I need you, I’ll call; the jobs aren’t that far apart, all right?” He sighed but you turned in his arms and wrapped yours behind him. “Just promise you won't do anything reckless. I’ll be fine on my hunt but Sam and Dean are trouble magnets.”_

_He quirked a smile. “I’ll be careful.”_

You slam your car door shut and Sam comes to the porch of the cabin like he’s been summoned. “What the hell happened?” you ask as you breeze past him. You’re trying to sound mostly nonplussed and only vaguely aggrieved, but when you see Cas lying still on a bed you rush to be next to him. Dean, not an idiot, immediately vacates his chair, and you sit and lean over your incapacitated boyfriend.

Cas is grimacing and twitching in his sleep. You take his hand and immediately drop it in shock– he’s fucking freezing. Being an angel, the temperature drop shouldn’t be a problem. But, being an angel, neither should a curse.

“It’s definitely a witch,” Dean says, pacing behind you. “We’ve got a short list of suspects we’re going to check out. You okay to stay here with him?”

“Find that witch,” you say, and lace your fingers in Cas’s. He doesn’t grip back, can’t grip back, but he’s the only thing keeping you from running out the door and leading the charge.

Sam and Dean are gone in under a minute. It’s so quiet that the clock becomes a stereotypical annoyance. You sigh, clear your throat, tap your foot, trying to make it less creepy. It…doesn’t really work. You just end up feeling like you’re going to end up babbling about yellow wallpaper, so you lean in closer to Cas. “So much for staying out of trouble.” You brush some of his hair back and end up running your hand through the fluffy mop. It’s soothing to you, and you hope it’s the same for him.

“I don’t know if you can hear me. I don’t know what kind of magical coma you’re in. But…” You shrug. “This is better than silence, I guess. And if you can hear me, then don’t worry. Sam and Dean are gonna get the witch, you’re gonna wake up, I’m gonna yell at all of you for not managing to stay out of trouble for one goddamn weekend, and we’re gonna stop at that diner I saw on the way up here.”

Cas lets out the smallest moan. Not much different from the noises he’s been making, but it makes your gut clench. There’s no sweating, teeth chattering, coughing, loud groaning, or any major sign of pain. No major sign of fighting for his life. It’s a quiet suffering, so still that it makes you sick.

“You remember when we stopped by that flower patch in the field in California? That was really nice. But I still think you were the only reason the bees didn’t sting me. They like you.” You smile at your hand on his. “It was the first time I held your hand, wasn’t it? I couldn’t believe how shocked you were. It was just…it’s just holding hands. Not like I did anything special.”

_“But I could feel it then,” Cas insisted when you expressed disbelief at one of his professed favorite memories. “I knew then that I never wanted to let go.”_

“You don’t have to worry about holding onto me right now, Cas. I’ll hold on for the both of us.” You press a kiss to the back of his hand.

He gasps and you freeze, but he settles. False alarm; you sigh in dismay and go back to your vigil. Hours pass and you step away, groaning at the stiffness in your back and legs, to light candles and turn on the little electric lanterns. The early winter night in the middle of nowhere means it’s still dark as shit but something is better than nothing. You keep your gun on the nightstand, loaded and ready, as well as a shotgun leaning up against the bed just in case. You are not going to be one of those poor fucks who doesn’t see a spirit coming.

And nothing is going to get at Cas. He doesn’t look any worse but he doesn’t look any better. He’s a lot quieter, though, and it scares the shit out of you. You’ve seen corpses that look more alive than he does. Er, unmoving corpses, to be specific.

“Come on, Cas,” you say. Sam and Dean might be having trouble right now and if you leave and something happens, if he doesn’t make it, when you never got to say–

Your relationship with Cas is as loving as any other but given the life you both lead, it has its highs and lows. Sometimes you’re both reading in the library, content just to be quiet with each other, and sometimes he’s slamming you up against a wall because that vampire got a little too close and he’s snarling about being more careful and you’re snarling about how you can handle yourself and in the morning you’re curled up together in bed whispering apologies and trading smiles. His smile is something beautiful. You’ve seen pictures of Jimmy’s smile, in photographs, and as nice as it is, it’s so very different to the light that comes out of your angel when he shares his joy with you.

You love it. You love him. You haven’t said it yet, just felt it, lingering at the edges like the most pleasant revelation you’ve ever had. You’ve hoarded it for yourself and you’re regretting it now as you watch the clock incessantly tick forward. An entire day with no word is not good news. You reach to take your gun, but stop to touch Cas’s face. You swallow hard. “I have to go pull Sam and Dean out of the fire. Again. Because our friends are assholes.” You smile weakly at the joke. “Don’t worry though, the place is warded and I’ll keep it locked. You’ll be fine. I…” Your voice drops to a whisper. “I love you and I’ll be back soon, all right?”

You kiss his lips and lean back to take a deep breath, trying to steady yourself for the hunt ahead. But that’s when you see Cas’s eyes.

You see Cas’s beautiful blue eyes.

“Cas?” you gasp and he sits up, blinking and looking around.

“I was…” He looks at you and sees you. His eyes widen and he says your name, almost smiling with the sound. “When did you–”

You attack him with a kiss and, despite a muffled cry of surprise, he gets into the swing of it rather quickly. When that’s done (after several minutes) he even holds you through your rambling recap of the events from Dean’s phone call to now. As he holds you, Cas strokes your hair.

“I remember…” He pauses. “I remember the witch using an ancient evocation and then I remember falling, unable to move. She said…there was a way to undo it. But that I wouldn’t live long enough to see it happen.”

“Thank goodness Sam and Dean are on it. Finally.” You sigh and look up at the clock. “It’s been a little while since you woke up. They should be on their way.”

Cas slowly stops stroking your hair. “Something…something is still not right.”

You look up and he’s frowning. He looks at you, disturbed. “I cannot place my finger on it, but…” He concentrates for a moment and his eyes widen. “The witch. She’s still alive.”

“What?” You scramble up and so does he. “Then how did the…”

“She said there was a way to undo the spell.” Cas holds your shoulders. “What happened?”

“Nothing, really. I was going to go out looking for them and I was telling you goodbye and then I–” Wait. Wait. Fucking seriously? You roll your eyes and grab your gun. “I am going to kill her and take away her Disney movie collection. Maybe in that order.”

Cas squints in confusion. “What–”

“No time; take us to the witch. Sam and Dean are probably doing a lot worse than you were.” You are so not explaining this one. Though you do smirk, hug his arm, and say, “Let’s go, Sleeping Beauty.”

 

You and Cas arrive behind a woman with long curly black hair who is standing in front of Dean and Sam who are both unconscious on the floor and moaning and groaning in pain. Well, that’s more like it, at least.

Mother Gothel turns with a smirk but when she sees Cas she pales. “No, you were supposed to–”

You cock the gun and aim it at her. “Nice try.”

“Wait!” Her hands are up and she takes a step back. “There’s a way to get rid of the spell without killing me. Please, I’ll tell you.”

You saw the report Dean was reading about her victims, the indiscriminate and cruel ways she cursed innocent people to death and worse. You fire into her chest before she can get another word out. “Think I’ll take the easy way, thanks.”

Sam and Dean go quiet and still and you and Cas run over to them. But when your knees hit the ground next to Sam he’s blinking and taking deep breaths and Cas is helping Dean up. You give Sam a minute to gather his bearings and then you help him to his feet.

“Did you–” Dean looks at the witch on the ground and then at the gun in your hands. “Good job.”

“Yeah. You owe me.”

Sam opens his mouth but then there’s a fierce pounding at the door by a worried neighbor, and everything’s a whirlwind as Cas gets you back to the house and you all scramble to leave town.

 

The sun’s coming up when you’re all sitting in the 24-hour diner that advertised the best breakfast this side of the state. You lean into Cas, exhausted, full, and utterly content. You’re not about to argue the claim.

“So the curse just spontaneously lifted?” Dean asks for the hundredth time.

“It must not have taken hold completely due to the fact that I’m not human,” Cas says. “Why is this so hard to understand.”

“Because it just happened to break right when the witch was trying to kill us and you both got there just in time?” Dean sits back with crossed arms. “Are you sure nothing else happened?”

“I’m positive.” You yawn. “Are we done?”

“Yeah, we’re good to go,” Sam chuckles. However when you’re all walking back to the cars he pulls you aside as Dean and Cas bicker. “Seriously, what happened?”

You open your mouth but at Sam’s severe look you stop and glance back. Dean and Cas are utterly occupied, snarking back and forth like the end of the world depends on it. You smile and turn back to Sam. “I told him I loved him and kissed him.”

Sam blinks. “Are you serious?”

“Yup,” you say, as pronounced as you can. “Bitch looked like a Disney villain but apparently she loves herself some princesses.”

Sam chokes on a laugh. “Okay…I get your point. I’m not telling Dean.”

“Good.” You hold his cheeks and give him the kindest smile you can muster. “Because if I found out you ever did, I’d skin you alive and then cut off all your extremities from smallest to biggest.”

Sam’s smile is more of a grimace. “Noted.”

You go back to your car, waving off the Winchesters with promises to meet up at the bunker. Cas is leaning against your car and you stride up to him, eager to get one more kiss for the road. “What were you and Sam talking about?”

“Complaining about Dean, mostly.” You grab his lapels and pull him close so his forehead is pressed to yours. “Hey Cas? I love you. Don’t ever scare me like that again, all right?”

You go for a small kiss but he pulls you in close, so close his fingers are almost painfully gripping into you. Almost. The kiss steals your breath so much that you pant when he breaks away. “What…was that about?”

He’s beaming brighter than the sun. “I love you too. And it’s…the first time you said that to me.” He nuzzles your face. “That you love me.”

You think back to that desperate confession by the bed, the kiss that woke him up. You smile and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I feel like that’s something I’m going to be saying a lot, Angel.”


End file.
